Born To Be Healthy

Alvin H. Danenberg, DDS Nutritional Periodontist
February 14, 2017

 

 

 

born to be healthyI was asked to speak to a group of my colleagues several days ago. They wanted to hear my thoughts on nutrition and how I treat gum disease. They wanted it to be a quick “lunch talk” because everyone had time constraints. So, I titled my “10-minute talk”, Born To Be Healthy. Here’s a summary of how it unfolded:

 

Born to be healthy

We were born to be healthy. We were not born to have our teeth rot, or to have bone melt away from the roots of our teeth, or to require fluoride to save our teeth. In fact, we were born to be healthy.

 

If we take a broad overview, we find that our primal ancestors were born to be healthy. Based on skeletal remains, we know that primal humans rarely had chronic diseases, tooth decay, or gum disease. Today, primitive societies living in remote areas of the world also rarely have chronic diseases, tooth decay, or gum disease. Then, why do we, as civilized people, have rampant chronic diseases that debilitate us? Why does more than 90% of the US population suffer with tooth decay as well as gum disease? What went wrong?

 

A fire within us

I believe there is a fire within us. We try to put it out with prescription medications that treat the manifestations of disease. We try to replenish our nutritional deficiencies with manmade supplements or processed chemicals. To treat infections in our mouth, we use antimicrobial mouthwashes that kill not only some bad bacteria but also a whole lot of good bacteria. And, we place fluoride barriers on our teeth to prevent decay, believing that it makes our teeth stronger.

 

While doing these things, we continue to stoke the fire within us. We eat innutritious and harmful foods that create problems in our gut, in our immune system, and in our mouth. Many of our lifestyles don’t support a healthy body, and we allow ourselves to be exposed to toxic substances. Most of us don’t sleep well. When it comes to exercise, most of us don’t. If we do exercise, many of our routines are excessive and cause damage to our body.

 

So, on one hand we are trying to put out the fire within us, but on the other hand we are reinforcing the breakdown of our body.

 

Answers to dilemma

In my opinion, the answers to this dilemma lie in our nutrition and lifestyle.

 

To heal and repair our bodies, and to heal and repair our mouths, we need to eat nutrient-dense foods. We need to get a handle on how we deal with stress. Our sleep patterns need to be restorative, and our exercise needs to be efficient – not excessive or nonexistent. We need to change our immediate environment so that it is not toxic to our body.

 

I incorporate these ideas with my treatment for gum disease. First, I examine my patients to determine what is going on. I treat the acute problems immediately and get their mouth comfortable. Next, I discuss with my patient whatever reparative treatment is necessary going forward. In my opinion, it is critical for my patients to understand how they can prevent their disease from returning. I teach them oral hygiene methods that they can do everyday. I also teach them the importance of nutrient-dense foods, restorative sleep, efficient exercise, and stress reduction from all sources. All these elements will not only make their mouths healthier but also improve their overall health.

 

Yes, we were born to be healthy. But, we were not born to abuse our bodies. Most disease comes from putting bad things into our body and not providing the essentials that our body requires.

 

 

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Healthy Death

      Alvin H. Danenberg, DDS     February 8, 2016  


 
 

Healthy DeathYes! You read it correctly!

 

I am close to 69 years old. At this stage of my life, death becomes more of a reality. I know there have been more years behind me than years remaining ahead. When I look around and see my contemporaries, I see the reality of getting older is often coupled with increased morbidity.

 

A majority of my contemporaries are dealing with chronic diseases that are slowly but significantly decreasing the quality of their lives. Many take several prescription medications; a few get sick easily and frequently; some have difficulty with their ability to walk and climb and enjoy the life they once adored. They appear to be dying a slow death. Their quality of life moving forward is becoming more and more compromised. This is not the way it was meant to be.

 

Most animals in the wild live a life to its fullest, and then die. They all die an inevitable death, as all living creatures do. But, when they die, most have lived a healthy life until their bodies give way. Most experience a healthy death.

 

Most of our primal ancestors didn’t show signs of chronic diseases debilitating their bodies. Most contemporary primal societies around the world live a strong and active life until they die – a life free of degenerative diseases. More often than not, they die a healthy death.

 

If I could create the imprint I would leave in this world, it would be to prove that an incapacitating life is not the way it has to be. I would want to teach, and be an example of, a life lived in health until death. I would want to scream from the hilltops that there is a way to have a healthy death. I would hope to be believed by my kids and their kids and everybody else who cared to listen.

 

I wrote an article titled, Born to be Healthy, which was published in seven installments in my Blogs as well as in its entirety in the November/December 2015 issue of Well Being Journal. I have included the entire PDF article (20 pages) from my blog post HERE. I also have a book that is in the hands of my literary agent titled, Hunger for Health!

 

I believe my mark in society is becoming more indelible as I spread the words about a healthy life and eventually a healthy death.

 

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Born to Be Healthy
(in one document)

      Alvin H. Danenberg, DDS     August 30, 2015  


 
 

 

evolution rIn the previous 7 installments, I posted my thoughts on how we were born to be healthy. Included in these installments were links to other articles I wrote supporting my philosophy as well as links to various peer-reviewed research documenting the facts. I have had a huge response from readers to put all of them together into one PDF document so that it would be easier to read and download. So, here it is.

 

This link will bring you my 20-page paper, Born to Be Healthy. It outlines the prevalence of gum disease in the US population today and discusses the science that sheds light on the foods we eat, what we absorb, how our bodies react to substances, and the importance of gut bacteria. It also addresses how I treat gum disease in my progressive office, the natural supplements I suggest to enhance the immune system’s function in health, and a preventive medicine protocol based on my belief that we were born to be healthy.

 

Thanks for your interest in my previous series of blogs; I always appreciate your comments. If you have questions for me, send me an email from my contact page.

 

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We Were Born to be Healthy:
Part 7 of 7

evolution rThis is the last installment of my 7-part series. Part 1 is HERE; Part 2 is HERE; Part 3 is HERE; Part 4 is HERE; Part 5 is HERE; and Part 6 is HERE.

 

Natural supplements for immune support
(These products are available through healthcare professionals.)

 

Some of my patients are interested in a natural way to support their immune system. I offer those patients four specific products that may enhance their immune system and gut microbiome during the healing process.

 

Andrographis Complex and Gotu Kola Complex support healing, and ProSynbiotic and Prescript-Assist support the gut microbiome.

 

Andrographis Complex contains Echinacea root, Holy Basil herb, and Andrographis herb. This herbal combination assists the immune system in fighting infection.
Andrographis for blog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gotu Kola Complex contains Gotu Kola herb, Grape seed, and Gingko leaf. This herbal combination assists regeneration of connective tissue and supports circulation.
Gotu Kola for blog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ProSynbiotic is a probiotic/prebiotic. This is a blend of 4 strains of research-supported probiotic microbes and 2 types of prebiotic fibers that help support a healthy gut microbiome.
ProSynbiotic for blog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prescript-Assist is a probiotic/prebiotic. This is a blend of 29 soil-based microbial strains that have been research-supported to assist intestinal flora. It also contains a prebiotic composition of Humic and Fulvic acids.
Prescript-assist for blog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preventive Medicine

 

My maintenance program is actually a preventive medicine program. In addition to an effective oral hygiene protocol, I recommend appropriate visits to a total-health-oriented dental office, a Paleo-type diet, and incorporation of other elements for health including restorative sleep, efficient exercise, and stress reduction.

 

My bottom line is to enhance the potential for quality of life.
Pillars of health for blog

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY

 

What we take in through our mouths has a profound influence on our overall health. All chronic disease, of which periodontal disease is one, is improved or worsened based on our diet and lifestyle. A Paleo-type diet and lifestyle will put in place the epigenetics that our genes require to function in a healthy state as we were designed to function.

 

We Were Born to be Healthy.

 

Part 1 is HERE; Part 2 is HERE; Part 3 is HERE; Part 4 is HERE; Part 5 is HERE; and Part 6 is HERE.

We Were Born to be Healthy:
Part 1 of 7

evolution rWe were born to be healthy. Is that such a difficult concept to wrap your head around?
 
Over these seven installments, I will share my story and what I have learned to unequivocally state, “We were born to be healthy.”
 
Since I’m a periodontist, I’m going to take a dental perspective. However, the health of our body and the health of our mouths are intimately and intricately connected. What happens in any human cell eventually affects every other cell to some extent. So, let’s get on with the task of being the healthy specimen we were designed to be.
 
My enlightenment
 
For the first 66 years of my life, I was an unhealthy guy. I thought I was healthy, but I wasn’t. As a matter of fact, in 2006 I had a stroke. From 2006 until 2013, I actively pursued a new course to get healthy. I began exercising aerobically 5 days a week for about an hour a day. I ate low-fat, high carb/high fiber foods because my physicians told me that was what I should do. But, if I was getting healthier, why was I gaining weight?
 
Then I took an unbelievable 5-day CE program in 2013 called Nutrition Intensive for Healthcare Professionals. I thought this would hone my skills and confirm what I was doing was on track. It had a different slant from what I was previously learning; it was based on ancestral nutrition. To my surprise, in those 5 days I learned that what I was doing was essentially wrong. The basic truths I was told to believe were actually false. That blew me away. My foundation was rocked.
 
I went on from there to get educated, as I had never been educated in my entire professional career. I eventually became a Certified Functional Medicine Practitioner and a Certified Primal BluePrint Expert. Concepts began to gel, and I knew we as humans were born to be healthy.
 
I am now the poster-boy for a Primal Lifestyle. It has changed my entire life and my total body health. In the last two and a half years, my blood chemistries have improved significantly, and I have lost over 30 pounds without “dieting”. I am a work in progress.
 
I am healthier today than I have ever been. And, I have incorporated what I have learned into my treatment for my periodontal patients who want to know.
 
Things to think about
 

  • We were not born with a Lipitor deficiency.
  • We were not born with a fluoride deficiency.

 
We were born to be healthy, but disease is rampant.
 
Disease happens for a reason. There must be cellular damage that eventually manifests into some type of definable disease. For example:

  • Something happens to our cellular function to create cardiovascular disease.
  • Something happens to our biological chemistry to create tooth decay.
  • Something happens to our immune system to create gum disease.

 
The question is, “What Happens and Why?” By the end of these installments, you will know what I believe happens to disrupt our body and take it off its designed course of health.